With 24 days left for a deal to be brokered to avert the so-called "fiscal cliff," both Rep. Chuck Fleischmann and Rep. Scott DesJarlais said they are prepared to stay in Washington, D.C., well into the holidays to cast a final vote.

Republican Gov. Bill Haslam said Tuesday his struggle over whether to create a state-based insurance exchange under the federal health care law has everything to do with getting to the "right answer" and not politics.

Tennessee has until Dec. 14 to make a decision on whether to set up a state-run health insurance exchange. The Affordable Care Act forces states to choose between creating a state-run health insurance exchange or allowing the government to create a federally run insurance exchange.

Republican leaders are already strategizing to dismantle parts of the Affordable Care Act. Roll Call reported that a resolution backed by Rep. Darrell Issa, the California Republican who heads the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Rep. Scott DesJarlais, a Tennessee Republican and the measure’s chief sponsor, is meant to nullify the upcoming IRS rule authorizing the distribution of subsidies through tax credits in every state, even the 35 that have not yet established state health care exchanges, as an incentive to get most Americans to buy insurance.

As Tennessee lawmakers return to Capitol Hill next week, a fiscal time bomb awaits them, one that could plunge the nation back into recession and sharply increase unemployment unless diffused.

Rep. Scott DesJarlais sent a letter to President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton demanding answers to questions regarding events leading up to and following the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi, according to a statement from his congressional office.

On Wednesday, Majority Leader Eric Cantor sent a letter to Republican colleagues pledging a bill in the new Congress to repeal IPAB, the 15-member board intended to propose ways to control Medicare spending if it exceeds a certain rate and Congress fails to act.

Legislation introduced by Rep. Scott DesJarlais unanimously cleared the House Wednesday, as lawmakers voted 400-0 to approve the Andrew P. Carpenter Tax Act. The bill, introduced by DesJarlais in May, prevents the IRS from collecting taxes on any amount of college loans that are forgiven following the death of an active service member. It was named after Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Andrew P. Carpenter of Columbia, Tenn., who was killed in February of last year while serving in Afghanistan.

Columbia resident Cindy Carpenter hopes legislation passed Wednesday in the U.S. House of Representatives will keep other families who lose a child to war from experiencing the same pain she suffered.

A bill that would allow the families of veterans who died while on active duty to avoid paying taxes on forgiven student loan debt passed unanimously in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday.